Vintage Eve: The 15 Most Influential Wine Men in My Life – 2011 Edition Part Two

Last week I gave readers the first half of my list of men that have been intrinsic in furthering my wine education, numbers1-8 out of 15. I had to break the list in two, as, these men, as you can guess, had many accolades I didn’t want to abbreviate. Here is part two, beginning with #9:

Perlis, Hasper, Lemley

Jeff Jacobson grew up with amazing Bordeaux and Burgundy wines and began to enjoy the more “affordable” wines from California and other countries, beginning in the 1960s. He and his wife Joan have always been community minded: donating and pouring their wines at the SCV Wine Classic’s library wine tables, staging the first wine-tasting fundraiser COC Library, an then as wine chair for the COC Wine Classic (Which is where I first met Jeff!) benefiting the COC’s Youth Orchestra Foundation. Last year I asked Jeff to assist the Circle of Hope, and we immediately renamed and advertised the event as the new Vine 2 Wine Classic, and grew the event into something incredible.

My “Guru”, as I’ve always called him, Guy Lelarge, will be celebrating 10 years of business at the Valencia Wine Company this September. Guy remembers me from day one and has not only enjoyed watching (and poking fun!) at my wine journey, but has done more than his fair share of contributing to it with tastings, dinners and classes. He has been another great go-to person when I have a question and I’ve also enjoyed dining and drinking with him yearly just to chat. He’s been a frequent “subject” in my youtubes as well. http://valenciawine.com

Steve Lemley has a passion for wine that led him to start in 1999 as a home winemaker. After many years of perfecting the craft, he met Nate Hasper and Pulchella Winery was born in 2006. The winery is located in Paso Robles and the tasting room is located in Newhall. They focus on producing hand crafted, small lots of single vineyard and complex blends. All of their grapes are sourced from the Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo counties. The Pulchella Winery tasting room is minutes from my house, and I find myself there when new varietals are released, always with bended ear to all I can learn from Steve and his partner Nate. http://www.Pulchella.com

Michael Perlis has been a staff writer, and is now the Contributing Editor for the Eve’s Wine 101 website, since 2009. If it weren’t for Mike, our readers – and me – wouldn’t have learned so much about Paso Robles wines. He provides outsourced controller services to businesses that do not need a full-time controller. He balances this with his interest in wine: reading and writing about it and, of course, drinking it. He is still trying to figure out how to combine these two pursuits. Feel free to contact him about either at mcpfinancial@aol.com or michaelthezinfan@aol.com.

Rusty Dale Sly is a Rocket Scientist, no pun intended. He is a specialist in the Launch Systems and Integration Department for an aerospace company where he is involved with launch interface requirements. Well versed in Chemistry, he enjoys brewing and creating new beer recipes. He also has a passion for fine wines, especially French wines, which he studies and analyzes from a technical approach. Rusty, as a staff writer for Eve’s Wine 101 website since ’09, and in running a monthly wine tasting group called Grape of the Night, continues to keep me informed, and challenged, in the world of wine.

From teaching wine education at College of the Canyons, to being the recent owner of the now shuttered Cellar bar and restaurant, DiMaggio Washington has been intrinsic in instructing me about wine. I’ve sat in on his classes, helped at his harvest and gained my Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 2 Certification through his instruction. Once, when a winemaker did something I questioned I called DiMaggio for his opinion. He not only set me straight, but drove over to the winery to help them out too.

Before Lee’s Wine Bistro, and before All Corked Up, Lee Yoon was at the center of our growing wine community in Santa Clarita at International Liquors. Over the years many people have benefited from meeting Lee at his different venues. For me, I’ve enjoyed his “blending” behind the bar and his inquisitive questions as to what I think I’m tasting. He has a wealth of knowledge that I continue to marvel at. http://facebook.com/leeswine.bistro

So dear wine friend, who were your wine mentors in 2011? (And yes, I did start doing one on females – but my list was too short. I will work on finding more female wine aficionados in 2012! I guess I really do have a resolution after all.)